Recap of Blood on the Scales:
From SevorTB.
Richard Hatch and Michael Angeli contributed to a discussion of Blood on the Scales on Maureen Ryan's The Watcher in the Chicago Tribune.
Monday, February 09, 2009
Blood Recap
Sunday, February 08, 2009
T-Shirt of The Month
FRAK EARTH tee by Geek In The City
[Btw, this other site has a bunch of fun BSG tees, if you are shopping for new stuff to wear this con-season. Just remember: if they spelled it "Frack" they spelled it wrong...]
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Dr. Dixon Returns
BSG fans who also watch GREY'S ANATOMY got a special treat this week on ep #514, "Beat Your Heart Out," with the reappearance of Mary McDonnell as Dr. Dixon. Definitely worth a watch if you're a Mary fan.
McDonnell/Olmos interview Part 4
Here is Part 4 of TV Guide's interview with Mary McDonnell and Edward James Olmos. I promise no spoilers here as long as you're all caught up.
[HT to reader Julie]
Preview clip: #417 No Exit
Ladies and gents, a miracle has occurred...SciFi.com has finally begun enabling video embeds off their site.
First, a preview clip from episode 417, "No Exit." [HT reader redwards95 for the heads up.]
Second, last week's videoblog, the depressing-but-funny "Gone Gaeta Gone."
Finally, this week's newest videoblog, "The Hatch." (Viva Le Hatch!)
Oh and one more from SciFi Wire: a spoilericious interview with Richard Hatch.
Bravo, AJ & RH. Bravo.
Friday, February 06, 2009
Open Thread: #416 Blood On The Scales
Please read our spoiler policy before you post on the open threads.
Past 4.5 open threads can be found in the index on our blogroll rightside column. If you know of other fun sites or forums that are having lively non-spoilery episode discussions, please feel free to post links here as well.
EPISODE 416: BLOOD ON THE SCALES
Writer: Michael Angeli
Director: Wayne Rose
READ Mo Ryan's interview with Michael Angeli here...and Bear McCreary's blog post on the ep here.
I like to live. Period.
Here's another peek at Katee Sackhoff on NIP/TUCK. From the promos I've been seeing, it looks like her character Teddy Rowe is going to show up starting on next Tuesday's episode. [HT Cinema Blend]
Thursday, February 05, 2009
CAPRICA pilot coming to DVD April 2009
I am surprised, and thrilled, to have just read this press release, reprinted below. Pretty frakkin great news.
The Highly Anticipated Feature-Length Prequel to the Series Phenomenon, 'Battlestar Galactica' Premiering Exclusively on DVD and Digital Download
FROM THE EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS OF SCI FI CHANNEL'S 'BATTLESTAR GALACTICA' RONALD D. MOORE AND DAVID EICK AND UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINMENT
As "Battlestar Galactica" wraps its gripping final season on
"We are thrilled to take the groundbreaking step of offering the world-premiere of the Caprica feature-length extended pilot episode on DVD prior to the new series' television debut," said
"Ever since fans first caught wind of the 'Battlestar Galactica' prequel Caprica, they have been eagerly following its development," said
"If 'Battlestar Galactica' offered us a way to shatter the conventions of space opera, Caprica will be a show which will challenge the conventions of science fiction storytelling as a whole," said
"Part sweeping soap, part meditation on the dangerous moral ramifications of artificial intelligence, this is a truly unique opportunity to continue telling stories which will be as daring and shocking as the best of 'Galactica' -- and yet will be altogether different from 'Galactica,'" said
Universal Cable Productions will begin production on the "Caprica" series in the summer of 2009 in
BONUS FEATURES:
- Feature Commentary with Director
Jeffrey Reiner and Executive Producer/Writer Ronald D. Moore and Executive Producer David Eick - Deleted Scenes
- Video Blogs
- What the Frak is Caprica?
- The Director's Process
- The V Club
- The Birth of a Cylon
SYNOPSIS
Set 50 years before Battlestar Galactica, Caprica follows two rival families and their patriarchs -
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Street Date:
Pre-Order Close:
Copyright: 2009 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Price:
Selection Number: 61109037
Running Time: 1 Hour 33 Minutes
Layers: Dual Layer
Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
Rating: Not rated.
Languages/Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Reviews of The Oath
Todd VanDerWerff for The House Next Door reviews The Oath:
The first five minutes or so of “The Oath” were pretty good Battlestar Galactica, if a little on the on-the-nose side of things (as the show can be every so often). But then, oh, then, “The Oath” turned into the awesomest thing that ever walked the face of this Earth. It had its flaws, and I want to pick on them, but, man, oh man, Starbuck shot a guy in the head, and Baltar and Roslin had to work together to help quell a growing mutiny in the fleet, and Adama and Tigh had their very own version of the impossible last stand of so many siege movies, and the whole thing just rocketed along like a leftover script from Season One (when the series was most overtly an “action” show). I’d like to criticize the whole thing, but did you hear me? It was AWESOME!
Alan Sepinwall for the The Star-Ledger:
After two episodes of watching the characters despair over a never-ending onslaught of terrible news, "The Oath" finally sees some of them taking action over it. It was an hour that provoked as visceral a reaction -- dread, mostly, with occasional punctuations of "Hell yeah!" -- as any "Galactica" episode has in a while.
What made "The Oath," written by series vet Mark Verheiden (click here for his episode post-mortem interview with Mo Ryan) and directed by modern noir specialist John Dahl, provoke such strong feelings from me (and based on the impatient e-mails I've gotten asking for this review, everyone else) wasn't just the meticulous way they showed how Gaeta and Zarek pulled off the mutiny. It was how they showed, again and again, characters using the mutiny as an excuse to settle old scores, or, even worse, to let off all of the steam that's built up over this awful four-year journey.
MaryAnn Johanson, FlickFilosopher:
The thing is, I’m not sure who’s right and who’s wrong in all this. I’m not sure that anyone is wrong, actually. Gaeta, for one, was right in the thick of it when humans collaborated with Cylons on New Caprica. He saw how badly that went. He’s exactly the person to make sure that doesn’t happen again. It is pretty frakked up to see an alliance between humans and Cylons. I’m not sure I wouldn’t do the same thing in Gaeta’s place. I do think Gaeta’s intentions are honorable. I don’t think he’s looking for power for its own sake.
Zarek’s a piece of work, though. He’s using Gaeta and surely knows that he -- Zarek -- cannot lose by doing so. If the uprising succeeds, Zarek gets the credit; if it fails, Gaeta takes the fall. Gaeta is frakked no matter what happens.
Little moments were so startling here: Starbuck calls the CIC and Gaeta hangs up on her. Lee calls the CIC and Gaeta puts him off. I mean, of course Gaeta would have to do those things, but there’s something sort of shocking about how in control he can be from his perch at the switchboard. It’s as if Uhuru were leading a mutiny on the Enterprise. It almost sounds silly... until you see it in action, and you can’t believe how smoothly it seems to be working.
Watching this episode, I thought: This really is the best show on television at the moment, isn’t it? The writing is so tight yet so fluid. We know that Moore and Eick did not have all the details of the series’ big story planned out in advance, maybe didn’t even have the grand overarching story itself entirely figured out, but you’d hardly guess that from what we see in this episode, which feel like it’s all about huge bouquets of diverse tendrils finally coming together in ways no one could have foreseen. And maybe it’s because much of it was not planned that it works so well: because the characters’ actions and motives feel organic, and not forced. It makes the show a real pleasure to watch apart from my own involvement in the story and the characters: to see a supremely well-crafted show, and to hope that it will inspire other television, of any and all genres, to come up to meet the bar that BSG has raised so high.
Curt Holman, Creative Loafing:
For the show’s first seasons, Gaeta served as a reliable, rather mousy background character, so having him evolve into a fiery, ingenious mutineer has been a surprise, almost like seeing Radar O’Reilly turn into Fletcher Christian. The change doesn’t come from out of the blue, though: Seasons Three and Four have built up Gaeta’s motivations for such an act. I strongly recommend the recent, 10-part “webisode” “The Face of the Enemy,” which offered a “ticking clock” adventure aboard a stranded spaceship, along the lines of Apollo 13 or Marooned. In addition to answering some gossipy questions about Gaeta’s sexuality, “The Face of the Enemy” provides the character with so much backstory and motivation, it’s a direct prelude to “The Oath.”
Marc Bernardin in Entertainment Weekly:
One of my favorite episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation was called ''Brothers.'' In it, Data — urged by some nascent programming — single-handedly shuts out the rest of the crew and takes control of the Enterprise. He knew exactly how that ship functioned and what the response to his actions would be, and so he was able to parry any attack with a mere flick of his hand on a keypad. Felix Gaeta's mutiny reminded me of that: He knew who to approach for support, who needed to be taken out of the way, how to get Tom Zarek out of the brig and back to Colonial One, how to make what he and his team were doing sound like system glitches, and, most importantly, what to tell Adama to trigger the events that he wanted. It was a heist, really — the stealing of Galactica with her commander right there at the helm — and it was actually a beautiful thing to see.
IGN:
While all this certainly made for even more dark times onboard Galactica, this was actually a very thrilling and exciting episode, which functioned as more action-oriented than usual – especially once Starbuck got involved. Her shooting two men about to kill Lee was a moment worth cheering, and she and Lee them sneaking through the ship allowed for some great Die Hard type vibes, as they attempted to get to Roslin and Adama. Things are never simple with these characters of course, and there was plenty to chew on over how exhilarated Kara seemed to be in this life or death situation, kissing Lee and saying she felt like herself again, which isn't exactly all positive, as we saw how cold she can be, when she attempted to kill a man Adama and Tigh had taken prisoner.
Chris Amorosi, The Daily Collegian:
The genesis of both television show and historical era begins in a sneak attack, but in Battlestar Galactica – it is the liberal democracy that loses its war on terror.
One aspect I find fascinating in Battlestar Galactica is its exploration of the government and the military. The human civilization continues its legal traditions despite threats to civilization's very survival, thus setting up an examination of democracy under extreme stress. Much like today, decisions made by the government are in constant conflict with powerful interests, voting blocs and reason itself.
TV Squad:
This was an excellent episode. While the whole "coup d'état" storyline has been done before (if memory serves, the last one was lead by Bill Adama himself), this was done in with more grace and subtlety. The experience was very much like an Alfred Hitchcock movie. The audience knew exactly what was happening while the characters didn't. I was practically yelling at the screen "Gaeta is committing treason! Why haven't you figured it out?"
Tim Goodman, for the San Francisco Chronicle:
The mutiny on "Battlestar Galactica" continued in this episode and proved to be a pulse-pounding shocker. I know that some die hards are having trouble with things happening either too quickly or with too much exposition, but "The Oath" basically started with a bang and kept running with it. With Gaeta and Zarek leading the mutiny and more and more humans following their lead, pretty soon the ship is overrun and the chaos theory, as orchestrated by super weasley Gaeta, is in full motion. Once Adama and Tigh have been relieved of their command and marched to the brig, the only person standing in the way of this working without a glitch is...Starbuck. Already trying to sort out what she found on Earth and what it all might mean to her specifically (note: send that info along when you find out, Kara), she realizes the mutiny is at hand and does what we want her to do - grab some guns and start pulling the trigger with abandon.
Kelly West, Cinemablend:
Just when I’m thinking Lee’s about to get a bullet in his head (or whatever it is that comes out of those guns), the guy holding the gun is shot. He falls and Kara’s standing behind him, with her gun raised. She’s all, “Yeah, what?” and another one of Zarek’s guys says “Frak You”. Kara responds by giving him another one of her bullets. She offers the other people standing around with guns a taste but they decline, letting her and Lee escape. They run off and Kara gives Lee a kiss. She’s all charged up after her shooting spree.
Sarah Hughes, The Guardian:
Imagine a drama where dreams never come true; where the characters are real and venal and grasping and even those who wish to do good most frequently end up doing bad; where even the best intentions lead to disaster and long-held hopes of redemption fade a little more every week. Welcome to the world of Battlestar Galactica, America's most depressing television drama.
That's not to say that BSG isn't great. It is. It is dark and twisted and melancholy and frequently quite brilliant but it is also nearly impossible to get through without several strong drinks to numb the pain.
...Yes, the end result is depressing and harrowing and seemingly determined to show us humanity at its venal, self-serving worst but the key to BSG's brilliance is that it remains true to that vision, no matter how grim. And that's ultimately why America's most depressing show is also among its very best.
Sam J. Miller embraces the Gaeta Moment:
So… yes, please, Gaeta. Bring the pain. We’ve watched this world built up piece by piece, like a marvelous sand castle, and it’s silly to expect a resolution that leaves everything pretty and nice and happy. The big wave always comes.
“Batter my soul,” said the great english poet John Donne, in a poem addressed to God. Isn’t that the mark of true faith? To accept the ugly things fate sends our way? To willingly submit oneself to the whims and demands of an unseen authority, knowing that the spiritual and emotional satisfaction will far outweigh the pain of loss and submission? That’s how I feel when I watch BSG, and I don’t even believe in god(s).
Also, check out a roundtable discussion of The Oath from Tor and other observations from, The Los Angeles Times, TV Fodder, recaps of A Disquiet Follows My Soul and The Oath from the Houston Chronicle. John Kubicek, at BuddyTV asks, Should Gaeta Be Airlocked? and you can vote in a poll on that question.
And later this week, Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune hopes to have an interview with Michael Angeli, writer of the next episode, Blood on the Scales.
Ratings Schmatings
If you want a peek at what the real ratings are for a show with a massively tech-savvy fandom like BATTLESTAR's, take a read:
'BATTLESTAR GALACTICA' SCORES BEST PERFORMANCE SINCE SEASON 2 PREMIERE WITH NEW LIVE + 7 DATA
SCIFI.COM HAS BEST MONTH EVER WITH RECORD BATTLESTAR GALACTICA TRAFFIC AND TRIPLE-DIGIT GROWTH
New York, NY February 4, 2009 Battlestar Galactica added to its stellar premiere numbers with the release of new Live +7 data. Overall, the January 16 episode, the first of the series' highly-anticipated final installment, averaged a 2.0 HH rating, 1.8 million Adults 18-49 (up +38% over the Live +Same Day ratings), 1.9 million Adults 25-54 (+35%), and 2.8 million total viewers (+32%). This was the best performance for Battlestar Galactica in total viewers since the season 2 premiere in July 2005.
Fans also visited SCIFI.COM in droves during the month of January to get their Battlestar fix online. With its robust slate of original content offerings, including the 10-part webisode series, "The Face of the Enemy," the Battlestar section of SCIFI.COM was #1 section of the site in January in page views (8.9 million, best month since April '08) and video streams (4.7 million, best month since October '06). Since debuting in December, "The Face of the Enemy" has served up 2.5 million streams.
Combine that info with the fact that BSG is constantly tracking as one of the most torrented shows in the stream, and come to your own conclusions about just how many folks are really watching our show. Nielsens be damned.
Now for something completely different: there's a new videoblog on SciFi.com, "Gone Gaeta Gone," starring Alessandro Juliani and one of his biggest fans. For some reason, this one kinda hurts to watch.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
More on the CAPRICA writing staff
Jane Espenson, in an interview with io9 this week, named a few more of the writers hired for season one of CAPRICA:
Io9: Congrats on becoming the showrunner at Caprica. Do you get a lot of input in crafting the first-season character arcs in Caprica, as the showrunner? How much of that stuff was already in place when you came on board?
JE: I'm pleased to say that I will have a lot of input in crafting season one of Caprica. Ron is still the ultimate king of us, and I hope that doesn't change, but I will be getting a lot of my ideas in there. We also have an amazing staff — Michael Taylor, John Zinman and Patrick Massett, Kath Lingenfelter, Matt Roberts and Ryan Mottesheard — and they will be contributing mightily.
Since more FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS staffers are joining the CAPRICA fold, now seems like an appropriate time to post this great piece by TIME's James Poniewozik, in which he compares Bill Adama to FNL's Coach Taylor. You know I cannot help myself, I love both shows way too much. ;) A few great excerpts:
I don't often enough give props to Edward James Olmos, so let me say it here: the man is amazing. The way he carries himself in this last scene says more about Adama's core and sense of honor than any scene of screaming and high drama. He kisses Roslin in front of his crew, sends her off to escape, then picks up his gun and gets ready for a last stand. And sits down. That, for me, was the beauty moment. Olmos is playing "the old man" as an old man. He's strong, he's resolute, he's angry. But he's also tired. He's come this far, this is his gods-damned ship, and he is not going anywhere.
...between BSG and Friday Night Lights airing at 9, we have back-to-back two rare, classical examples of a kind of manhood that Hollywood rarely manages to pull off anymore. Coach Taylor and Adama are different men in different situations, of course. But they are both examples of old-fashioned manly virtues—honor, loyalty, integrity—portrayed in a way that's neither sentimentalized nor cynical.
...TV has done great things with antiheroes like Tony Soprano, who whined about the death of the strong, silent "Gary Cooper type" without realizing that he was himself part of the problem. But it's even more rare, and difficult in this day and age, to portray actual Gary Cooper types in a way that seems neither phony nor snarky. Eric Taylor and Bill Adama are a rare breed. We should appreciate them while they're still around.
(You know, I already caught FNL's new season on DirecTV this winter -- but man, watching FNL and BSG back-to-back on Friday nights? That would be one helluva double bill.)
Preview Clip for ep 416
Thanks to reader Mark for alerting us to this preview clip from Friday's ep "Blood On The Scales"...warning for mild spoiler.
Monday, February 02, 2009
Video: Mark Verheiden at the Bagdad
Thanks to Cort & Fatboy for providing us with a link to this video of Mark Verheiden's Q&A at their Portland screening last Friday night. A great time was had by all...
Deep Thoughts
There is a Languor of the Life
More imminent than Pain --
'Tis Pain's Successor -- When the Soul
Has suffered all it can --
– Emily Dickinson
More imminent than Pain --
'Tis Pain's Successor -- When the Soul
Has suffered all it can --
– Emily Dickinson
As we process the latest events, and steel ourselves for all that is coming, consider this:
On immortality and death in BSG.
On the bittersweet, dignified demise of BSG.
On coming to terms with our inner Cylon.
On the differences in meaning between BSG and STAR TREK.
On one of my own favorite aspects of BSG…and why, naturally, this aspect has become a bit…”complicated”…as of late.
On BSG’s relevance in the Obama era.
On the powerful melodramas at play both on BSG…and back in reality, as Obama ascends.
On the semiotics of facial hair and shaving in BSG.
A couple of fans expounding eagerly and well about BSG.
On the special language of BSG.
A few final trifles: a knitting project. A well-thought chart of upcoming character death predictions. (Baltar is “expendable”? Really?)
On The Auction Block This Week...
The latest auction batch went live this past weekend; here are a few favorite items...
Duck & Nora photo (RIP)
Sunday, February 01, 2009
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